I started this yesterday (Friday), but didn't get a chance to finish it, so here it is now. Technically, Friday is over and it's no longer considered Quick Takes, but I'm too lazy to try and change the formatting since I'd just like to get a post up.
In no particular order, here are some thoughts and events happening recently. Some of them might be better labeled "long takes," and I might have more than 7 things to say, but here goes:
Family visits: we survived having both sets of our parents in town the same weekend! It helped that they both stayed in a hotel and our friends stayed at our home:-) Overall, it was good to introduce Baby R. to them and be able to spend time with our parents, even if it was only for 3 days. My mom was crazy, as she always is, but we tried to ignore her. It helped that I was severely sleep-deprived and not caring about a whole lot! She's already talking about when she can come back and visit, which is pretty amazing considering she's only been out to visit us one other time and we've lived here for 8 1/2 years.
Baptism: This past weekend we welcomed Rachel into the family of God. What a surreal experience it was to hold our child while the water and Word combined to do an amazing saving act. I cried the night before thinking about the event, the morning of, before the service, and the hymn right before the baptism. I did not cry, however, during the baptism, but my DH did. We were honored to have our friends stand up as Godparents and travel all the way from Atlanta to be present for the baptism. They also brought along their two kids ages 5 and 2. We are Godparents to the 2-year old, so it was fun to be able to spend time with her and see how she has grown, and the neatest part was seeing how enamored she was with Baby R, her Godsister. They had never been out to visit, so it was fun showing them our local sights and having them stay with us- though our little house did get a wee bit crazy at times!
Healthy Sleep: I recently picked up a copy of the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" as a few people had recommended it to me. I read the part about sleep in the first 1-2 months, and boy was it pretty accurate for us. It's reassuring to read that R's sleep habits are actually quite normal for her age, and it's useful to know what's ahead as far as her sleep patterns go.
Napro: We recently met with my Napro Dr. as he's going on sabbatical for a year. It was strange to make the 90 minute drive down to his office with an infant in our car. That drive had become so routine for us in the thick of treatments. At some point, we were driving down every other month I think. And this time, it had been 9 months since we'd been there for an appointment. We introduced Baby R. to Dr. S and talked about where to go from here. He suggested I re-start Metformin in another month and then re-start low dose naltrexone in 2-3 months. Both are ok while breastfeeding and I was on both before we got pregnant and then through 20 weeks. I'd sort of like to start them now rather than waiting, but didn't think to ask what the benefit would be to wait.....
We did check my Vitamin D levels because they were so low in the past and I had sort of slacked off on taking Vit. D supplements while pregnant. I'm not really sure why, but I think I just ran out of the supplement and then didn't get any more. While, my Vit. D is low again...37, so I'm back on 4,000 iu a day of D3.
I don't know what the next year will hold for Napro and me. If we do want to try and get pregnant again or I have questions about my current fertility health, I can contact his partner, but she's not really Napro trained. I guess we will just wait and see what happens.
6 weeks- Yesterday marked 6 weeks for Baby R and I. It's amazing how things have really turned around the last week or two as far as her sleep and development are concerned. (I have a separate post on that coming soon.) Yesterday, I went for my post-partum visit with my local OB. One of the 1st questions the nurse asked was if I'd be getting an IUD today. Um...no thanks! Everything checked out OK with my healing. I declined birth control and had my thyroid and iron levels checked because I am so tired all the time. Yes, I realize I have an infant at home, but I'm really, really tired all day every day. All blood work checked out ok, of course, but my TSH and T4 are in the lower end of the range, as they always have been. Looks like that hasn't changed since pre-pregnancy.
Growth spurt: our little one gained 9 oz the past 8 days! Talk about a big growth spurt for her, and she did all of this while our company was in town and we were under a lot of stress. She's now up to 8 1/2 pounds...still little, but getting bigger!
Vaccines: I'm starting to think about her 2 month appointment, which is rapidly coming up. She's supposed to get a bunch of vaccines at the appointment, and we need to decide what to do. I'm not opposed to vaccines, but with her being so little and so young, I'm not comfortable with the amount of vaccines she's supposed to receive. I've been looking into Dr. Sears alternate vaccine schedule, and our pediatrician would be on board with this, but I'm curious what other people think. Thoughts? Experiences? Things I should consider?
1st bottle: DH has finally started giving Baby R. a bottle each day. Overall, she's taken to the bottles like a trooper. We started using Medela bottles as I could pump right into them, but switched to Dr. Brown's to see if we could cut down on her air intake. The only problem now is that a lot of the milk I've frozen (a bag a day since mid-May) is either tainted with antibiotics that I was on for 10 days or the diet I was following wasn't the best (caffeine, gassy veggies, dairy). So...do we throw that frozen milk out and start over? We did give her a bottle of it last night and it seemed she was extra fussy and extremely restless overnight. The verdict is still out on if that was because of the previously frozen milk or not.
SIL: I've talked before about DH's youngest sister...she's the one living with the boyfriend who has no job yet won't watch the kids while she works, she has 2 kids of her own with him, he has 2 other kids by 2 different women, we've called CPS on her before when he was beating her and burning her things, etc. I've really wrestled with God about her situation, wondering why He continues to grant her/them kids and not us. This was especially hard before we got pregnant, but I'm starting to think "once an IF, always an IF." Last week, right before the baptism weekend, she announced she was 16 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child, a little boy. I instantly got ticked, jealous, and mad. Apparently, she didn't think you could get pregnant while breastfeeding (her youngest is 10 months old now). Both DH and I got really upset...for different reasons, I think. But it made me pose the above question about always being in IF. Here I sit, close to the eve of the baptism of our child, and I'm filled with jealousy. What gives?
Catching up: I feel so far behind on blog posts, emails, Facebook photos, thank you notes, and we haven't even ordered our birth announcement yet. I realize these are all trivial items, but the organizer in me is going crazy. Hopefully, now that I'm feeling better and our company is gone, I'll be able to catch up on thank you notes at least!
Swing regression: The swing no longer puts Baby R. to sleep. I don't know if this is a temporary thing or not. It works if I hold her until she falls asleep (she loves to be held) and then gently set her in the swing, but if I try to have the swing rock her to sleep, it doesn't work or she spits up. I bought an infant pouch type carrier this week that I'm going to try and see if that helps during the day some.
Single parenthood: DH is heading out of town for the next 13 days (hence the above purchase). Yikes! I'm super nervous about being a single parent for that time period. I'm on my own for 8 days and then his aunt and cousin come for a visit to help me for the rest of the time and see him once he returns. He's going to take 2 weeks of graduate classes as he works to complete his Doctorate degree. After this trip, he only has to go one more time to take classes and then finish his dissertation. He is so close to being done and needs to complete everything by 2015. We knew it would be tough for him to go, but I've gotten so spoiled by how much he's helped with the baby, that I didn't realize how hard it would be for him to go. I'm trying to have some ladies from church come over for a bit several days next week...either to hold her while she wants to sleep or just give me a little break. Any extra prayers would be appreciated though!
In no particular order, here are some thoughts and events happening recently. Some of them might be better labeled "long takes," and I might have more than 7 things to say, but here goes:
Family visits: we survived having both sets of our parents in town the same weekend! It helped that they both stayed in a hotel and our friends stayed at our home:-) Overall, it was good to introduce Baby R. to them and be able to spend time with our parents, even if it was only for 3 days. My mom was crazy, as she always is, but we tried to ignore her. It helped that I was severely sleep-deprived and not caring about a whole lot! She's already talking about when she can come back and visit, which is pretty amazing considering she's only been out to visit us one other time and we've lived here for 8 1/2 years.
Baptism: This past weekend we welcomed Rachel into the family of God. What a surreal experience it was to hold our child while the water and Word combined to do an amazing saving act. I cried the night before thinking about the event, the morning of, before the service, and the hymn right before the baptism. I did not cry, however, during the baptism, but my DH did. We were honored to have our friends stand up as Godparents and travel all the way from Atlanta to be present for the baptism. They also brought along their two kids ages 5 and 2. We are Godparents to the 2-year old, so it was fun to be able to spend time with her and see how she has grown, and the neatest part was seeing how enamored she was with Baby R, her Godsister. They had never been out to visit, so it was fun showing them our local sights and having them stay with us- though our little house did get a wee bit crazy at times!
Healthy Sleep: I recently picked up a copy of the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" as a few people had recommended it to me. I read the part about sleep in the first 1-2 months, and boy was it pretty accurate for us. It's reassuring to read that R's sleep habits are actually quite normal for her age, and it's useful to know what's ahead as far as her sleep patterns go.
Napro: We recently met with my Napro Dr. as he's going on sabbatical for a year. It was strange to make the 90 minute drive down to his office with an infant in our car. That drive had become so routine for us in the thick of treatments. At some point, we were driving down every other month I think. And this time, it had been 9 months since we'd been there for an appointment. We introduced Baby R. to Dr. S and talked about where to go from here. He suggested I re-start Metformin in another month and then re-start low dose naltrexone in 2-3 months. Both are ok while breastfeeding and I was on both before we got pregnant and then through 20 weeks. I'd sort of like to start them now rather than waiting, but didn't think to ask what the benefit would be to wait.....
We did check my Vitamin D levels because they were so low in the past and I had sort of slacked off on taking Vit. D supplements while pregnant. I'm not really sure why, but I think I just ran out of the supplement and then didn't get any more. While, my Vit. D is low again...37, so I'm back on 4,000 iu a day of D3.
I don't know what the next year will hold for Napro and me. If we do want to try and get pregnant again or I have questions about my current fertility health, I can contact his partner, but she's not really Napro trained. I guess we will just wait and see what happens.
6 weeks- Yesterday marked 6 weeks for Baby R and I. It's amazing how things have really turned around the last week or two as far as her sleep and development are concerned. (I have a separate post on that coming soon.) Yesterday, I went for my post-partum visit with my local OB. One of the 1st questions the nurse asked was if I'd be getting an IUD today. Um...no thanks! Everything checked out OK with my healing. I declined birth control and had my thyroid and iron levels checked because I am so tired all the time. Yes, I realize I have an infant at home, but I'm really, really tired all day every day. All blood work checked out ok, of course, but my TSH and T4 are in the lower end of the range, as they always have been. Looks like that hasn't changed since pre-pregnancy.
Growth spurt: our little one gained 9 oz the past 8 days! Talk about a big growth spurt for her, and she did all of this while our company was in town and we were under a lot of stress. She's now up to 8 1/2 pounds...still little, but getting bigger!
Vaccines: I'm starting to think about her 2 month appointment, which is rapidly coming up. She's supposed to get a bunch of vaccines at the appointment, and we need to decide what to do. I'm not opposed to vaccines, but with her being so little and so young, I'm not comfortable with the amount of vaccines she's supposed to receive. I've been looking into Dr. Sears alternate vaccine schedule, and our pediatrician would be on board with this, but I'm curious what other people think. Thoughts? Experiences? Things I should consider?
1st bottle: DH has finally started giving Baby R. a bottle each day. Overall, she's taken to the bottles like a trooper. We started using Medela bottles as I could pump right into them, but switched to Dr. Brown's to see if we could cut down on her air intake. The only problem now is that a lot of the milk I've frozen (a bag a day since mid-May) is either tainted with antibiotics that I was on for 10 days or the diet I was following wasn't the best (caffeine, gassy veggies, dairy). So...do we throw that frozen milk out and start over? We did give her a bottle of it last night and it seemed she was extra fussy and extremely restless overnight. The verdict is still out on if that was because of the previously frozen milk or not.
SIL: I've talked before about DH's youngest sister...she's the one living with the boyfriend who has no job yet won't watch the kids while she works, she has 2 kids of her own with him, he has 2 other kids by 2 different women, we've called CPS on her before when he was beating her and burning her things, etc. I've really wrestled with God about her situation, wondering why He continues to grant her/them kids and not us. This was especially hard before we got pregnant, but I'm starting to think "once an IF, always an IF." Last week, right before the baptism weekend, she announced she was 16 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child, a little boy. I instantly got ticked, jealous, and mad. Apparently, she didn't think you could get pregnant while breastfeeding (her youngest is 10 months old now). Both DH and I got really upset...for different reasons, I think. But it made me pose the above question about always being in IF. Here I sit, close to the eve of the baptism of our child, and I'm filled with jealousy. What gives?
Catching up: I feel so far behind on blog posts, emails, Facebook photos, thank you notes, and we haven't even ordered our birth announcement yet. I realize these are all trivial items, but the organizer in me is going crazy. Hopefully, now that I'm feeling better and our company is gone, I'll be able to catch up on thank you notes at least!
Swing regression: The swing no longer puts Baby R. to sleep. I don't know if this is a temporary thing or not. It works if I hold her until she falls asleep (she loves to be held) and then gently set her in the swing, but if I try to have the swing rock her to sleep, it doesn't work or she spits up. I bought an infant pouch type carrier this week that I'm going to try and see if that helps during the day some.
Single parenthood: DH is heading out of town for the next 13 days (hence the above purchase). Yikes! I'm super nervous about being a single parent for that time period. I'm on my own for 8 days and then his aunt and cousin come for a visit to help me for the rest of the time and see him once he returns. He's going to take 2 weeks of graduate classes as he works to complete his Doctorate degree. After this trip, he only has to go one more time to take classes and then finish his dissertation. He is so close to being done and needs to complete everything by 2015. We knew it would be tough for him to go, but I've gotten so spoiled by how much he's helped with the baby, that I didn't realize how hard it would be for him to go. I'm trying to have some ladies from church come over for a bit several days next week...either to hold her while she wants to sleep or just give me a little break. Any extra prayers would be appreciated though!
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I would get on 10,000 units of vitamin D3 :) THat's a low D. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like some busy (and mostly fun) times! Welcome, R., into the family of God!
ReplyDeleteI bought the Dr. Sears book too but haven't read it yet...someone give me a synopsis ha!
ReplyDeleteI liked the Dr. sears book. We don't follow it exactly, but it is a great reference. In general, I tend to be more laid back about the early vaccines (eg the pc and hib) and more cautious about the big, intense or multiple vaccine combos like chickenpox and mmr. I know Dr Gianna says that it only takes one bad case of chickenpox to put the fear of God into a pediatrician. Oh, I miss her blog! Anyway, with R being so little you might find a mobt or a Mei tai carrier is easier to get her comfortable. Those pouch slings are tricky because baby's chin can get pushed down on her chest and make breathing hard. Do you have a mom's sling group in the area? I worked with my local group and they allow you to rent a carrier for a month and teach you how to use it. That's how I fell I love with the babyhawk
ReplyDeleteYay baby R, a new creation in Christ! Hope to see pics from the big day!
ReplyDeleteI am praying for ya when you are alone...its tough work!
ReplyDeleteGlad your precious girl is doing well...My vit D was 39. I thought norm is 30-100...I am taking 2000- maybe I should double too! Also, good luck with the vaccines...I did them all- but M really was weird a couple days after his 2month ones....4month ones were no biggie b/c he was older.
Wow, you guys have been busy! Congrats on R's baptism, what a special day. Good luck when your DH is gone...message me if you get overwhelmed and need to vent! You can do this, mama. One day at a time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. We didn't start vaccinating til our son was one. Then only certain ones. It was a fluke that we chose this. But I am so thankful as some of the vaccines have an egg component and he was allergic to eggs. Apparently, in Japan, they don't vaccinate til the children are 2. Sorry to hear that you are so sleep deprived. It is such a marathon in the beginning. Eat well and sleep whenever you can. I hope the church ladies can come and help out. If nothing else, just to have some company. Praying for you. And thanks for the prayers in return :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Rachel on her Baptism!!! Hooray!!!
ReplyDeleteI know sleep changes things. It's amazing what a routine does! At 11 weeks, Luke goes to bed at about 8 pm (dark room, rocking chair with mom, then put in crib) and now sleeps til 6 or 7. Your "full night's sleep" is coming. Hang in there! I'm not sure what it's like breastfeeding, but bottle feeding, Luke gets 4-5 oz before bedtime.
The swing can be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing. Luke hated it for awhile, but then was ok about it. You might keep trying it. I could be a short "phase." The carrier we have worked out REALLY well! I need to order another, different style carrier, etc. The babies just love being close to mom. They can sleep through anything. I guess they just want to be held. :-)
I'd feel the same as you about hearing the announcement from your SIL. My friend's SIL is having her third and she's only 20. My question is also WHY? WHY, WHY, WHY???
Don't worry about catching up. Read the important stuff. I didn't order Luke's birth announcements for quite awhile. I sent them with Thank You's for the baby stuff (saved stamps that way. lol) People will understand!
OH ... vaccinations ... I forgot (so much good info you shared) ... we just did the "standard" 2 month vaccinations at 11 weeks (prolonged b/c he was sick). Thought about doing them drawn out ... but just got them all done due to day care needing info. :(
ReplyDeleteThe worst is watching your baby get the shots. You want to take them yourself. Vaccine decisions are SO HARD!